Rail anchor



p 1935- c. G. ERICSON 7 ,2 f

' v RAIL ANCHOR I -F'i1e d June '14, 1952 s Sheets-Sheet '2 INVENTOR ATTORN EY Patented Apr, 2, i 1935 This inventionrelatesto rail anchors for preventingrail creepage, and more particularlyrto a two piece type'of rail anchor having a construction for maintaining-a strong springgripping action between working a position.

' 1 It 1 is-well knownto hat familiar. with trackproblems that the'rails for supporting the wheels;

' ofa train tendto creep-in the direction ofthe stock; g I 'Tomeet these anchor of today should be capable of resisting a greater creeping force imparted to'therails by the heavier and faster moving rolling stock, and therefore should possess increased strength and railgripping properties; It is also important 20 that the rail anchor shall becheap'to construct both asto-labor and material, and easy to, apply quiring the to and remove froni 'a rail'without re use of special track equipment. I The present invention relates to a two piece 25 fall anchor; comprising a ,shoeland yoke'of .the

general type disclosed in my Patent Z No.

1,548,589, dated. August 4,1925, but contemplates I pronounced improvements over 'the construction of said'patent, in that in therailtanchorfof the cooperating parts,'whereas in thepresent. con

I struction the cooperating parts are'designedf'so 85': as to providea distinct spring gripping "action.

between the tion.-"' .I H In order to securethe springgripping action contemplatedby'the, present invention itis necesparts when in their working posi'-.

40' sary to so construct the shoe and yokethatthey,

' will possess suiiicientstrength. to hold the'rail againstthe, strong creeping forces that may be exerted thereupon and at the same time are sufificiently resilient to provide i the desired spring action.

,One important feature of the present inven-. tion' resides'in a resilient ,yoke adapted toextend across the lower face of a'rail base andcom structed to engage only the central lower face of the'base with afulcrum action thatholds the remaining underlying portions of "the yokein yielding spaced relation to the rail-base. As a result'of this construction the yoke is given 'a spring-"action'at each side of the central longitudinal axis ofthe rail thathelps to hold the the parts" when in their traffic, and that this creeping tendency hasbeen greatly increased by the jmodern tendency of, increasing the weight-andspeed of the rolling:

changed conditions the" patent both the shoe and-yoke are given'a rigid, non-yielding construction so -.that there is an absence of a distinct spring aotionwbetween the,

' upwardly extending'end portions-of the yoke in stronggripping actionwith' the" parts; they engage. This'spring action it shouldbelnotedis secured withouti-in :any way reducing "the ency of the rail. r.

Another importantfeatureof the present invention resides in the constructionjofi'the 'overhangingjawwhereby this jaw exerts a strong spring gripping actiorixupon the shoe; This is 10' secured by imparting a longitudinal twist'tothe' shoeengaging jaw orzby beveling itslower face so that the'pressureof thisface upon" the'shoe subjects the jaw 'to a;longitudinaljtorsional twist.

The formingof this lower .face of the jaw at an" inclination to the upper face of thefshoe has a further advantage in that itifacilitatesthe-ine sertion'of theshoe the hook portion of the yoke,- and the torsional twist imparted tothis overhanging-jaw itjshould be noted gives the desired spring action; without, reducing-the strength'of theyoke. I

vention residesin the constructionof the shoe sothat the cooperating jaws thereof provided to engage the upper .and lower faces-of the rail basexwill grip the rail base with astrong spring clamping force that prevents the shoe from slide, ing lengthwise of the rail when theparts are. in.

their working relation.' 1 A furtherfeatu-re resides: r

in the arrangement'of these jawsisdthatithey' arespaced further apart at one end of the shoe than the other to facilitate'thei-engagenientof. one end portion of the'shoe withdthetra'il base by hand. Still another feature of "the invention resides in the arrangement ofone longitudinally extending jaw. of the shoe so=that itsinclination variesjslightly longitudinally of the shoe. and tendsi'tol cantltheshoe slightly to increase the gripping actionz of the other jaws upon'the rail 0,

base. r v

"As-a 'resultfof the sprin gripping action of I both theshoe and yoke the rail ranchor pa'rtswillcompensate for the usual inequalities and allowable tolerance" in the' railbas'e. dimensionafand also compensate for. slight variations-which may v oc'curin' constructingi the railanchor parts so that itisunnecessary to'machine =any par-tot 'eitherithe yoke or shoe' The rail anchonalso;

combines the important qualificationsof flexibil-Q ity'and ruggedness and is so designed thatmetal omitted where not requiredfor strength toy thereby avoid waste of material andunnecessary weight.

' i 'Ihevarious strength of the-yoke to resist the creeping tend- 5.

Anotherimpor'tant feature of thepresentfin-y f features" of the. present invention-Z t5 and novel combination of parts will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate one good practical form thereof.

In the drawings:---

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the rail anchor of the present invention in service position upon the rail;v

Fig. -2 is a vertical section view through the rail and' -shoe-of Fig. 1 showingthe yoke in side view;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the shoe;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of the rail showing the shoe in the preliminary position the twisted shoe engaging jaw; -:Fig. 10 is ase'ctional view taken on upon the rail base in which it may be applied by hand;

Fig. 5 is a top plan Fig. 6 is aside elevation of the shoe looking toward the jaws for engaging the rail base;

Fig. 7. is an endview of Fig-6' looking towards the :smaller end ofthe 'shoe; I i

Fig. ,8 .is an end view of Fig. '6. looking towards the'tieengaLging face of'the abutment member;

Fig. 9 is. atop plan view of the yoke showing the line lit-l of'FiguQ;

Fig. 11 is .aview similar to Fig. 6 but shows the yoke inengagernent-with the tapered end of the shoe;

12 'is a sectional 'view taken on the line Fig. 13 isa sectional view taken onthe line The rail anchor is shownas'applied to a rail of the conventional type, having-the usual head portion I, intermediate web 2 and base 3. i The rail ibase has the bottom or lower face 4, vertical side edges and upperslopin'g faces 6, and the rail is .shownasrestin'g upon the usual tie I.

The rail anchor shown comprises ashoe construct'ed 'to fit upon I an edge portion of the rail base, and a yoke adapted tospan the rail base and embracethe'shoe-and one edge ofthe rail base to l'ook-the partslinplace upon therail.

The shoeas'construeted in accordance with the present-invention comprises an elongated .member having a slot formed longitudinally 2 thereof to receive'the'rail edge, andthis slot is foamed wlthan upper inclined jaw 8 extending I crease the depth of the slot'at the entrance end of theashoe aswill beapparent-from Fig. 5.

The'lower jaws-9 and as shown lie in the same horizontarplane to engage the lower face 6 of the rail base *and thej'upper jaw 8 atv the tie eng'agingend ofthe'shoe is: given an inclination that corresponds closely 'with. the slope of the upper face 6 1of.the" rail base, and the distance between'the'jaws-lgandfl at'this' end of the shoe is :just sufficient to embrace the 1 upper andlower facesot the rail base when thegshoe' is. applied thereto by hand, as will be apparent from Fig.4.

. Anrjmportant feature; of the present invention,

viewof the shoe andyoke in service position upon the rail:

as above pointed out, resides in the construction whereby the jaws at one end of the shoe engage the rail base with a strong spring gripping action when the parts are in working position. This is secured in the embodiment of the invention shown by making the distance between the outer portions of the upper and lower jaws 8 and ID less than the thickness of the tapered portion of the rail base engaged therebetween, as will be apparent from Fig. 13, so that -as the shoe is forced inwardly towardsthe rail edge 5 it will grip the rail base with a strong spring action that prevents displacement of the shoe longitudinally of the rail by the pressure of the shoe against the tieor while the yoke is being driven into locking engagement 7 with the shoe.

This gripping action at the entrance end of the shoe is preferably secured by forming the lower face of the jaw 8 so that its angle to the horizontal plane decreases towards the entrance end'of the shoe. In other words the'upper sloping face 6 of. a rail base usually lies at an angle of about lidegrees to the lower face 4, and the present shoe for'use upon a rail having'this slope would be constructed so that the upper jaw 8 slopes at about 14 degrees at the abutment end and at about 11 degrees at the shoe entrance end. This causes the shoe to engage the rail with a strong spring gripping action at its entrance end as the'shoe'is forced inwardly against the rail edge, as will be apparent from Figs. 6, 7 and 8, and more particularly from Fig. 12 in which the inclination of the jaw 8 with respect to the-dotted lined-cl is'readilyseen. The line a-a is drawn parallel to the upper face of the jaws 9, l0.

' This shifting of the plane of the lowerfaceof the jaw'8 from one end towards the other-serves also'to impart a slight canting action to the shoe forcing the jaw 9 'atthe tie engagingend of the shoe'upwardlyinto gripping action-with the rail base in addition to the pinching'of therail base between the upper and lower jaws at the entering end of the shoe. In this manner a three pointgripping action upon the rail base is secured irrespective of slight variations that may occur in the thiekness'of the'rail base.

The tire engaging end of the shoe isprovided with the downwardly extending abutment l3 thatismade'relatively large-so as to avoid damaging the tie 1 under heavy pressure, and the stiffness of the jaws 8 and 9 at :this'end'of the shoe. is'increased by providing the abutment 43 with the .jaw reenforcing flange H. The strength of'the abutment B is increasedby providing it with the stiffening rib extending downwardly from the shoe along the abutment.

As a result of the stiffening effect of the'fiange M the jaws B and 9 are rigid and non-yielding at this end of the shoewhile at the opposite end ofthe shoe they are sufliciently resilientto spring apart as they are forced into grippinglenga'gement with the rail base.

Thespace it provided between the lower jaws B and I0. serves to reduce the weight of the shoe, but what is more important,'itreduces'the loosening effect of'th'e vibration of the rail upon the shoe; thatis,ithetrafiic'upon the rail produces vibration'ther'ein, but since the rail base is not engaged at. its lower face between the jaws 9 and IE it may vibrate between the jaws without disturbing the shoe.

Having described the constructionof the shoe of the present invention, the yoke of the present toerasev g I,

"The length ofthe'yok e is :such that-tm short;

invention that cooperates therewith will now be described] j" Q v 3 j In the construction shown the'yoke'comprises a resilient shankor bodyportion IBadapted to .extend under and 'span the railbase 3.

" shank is provided at one end withan' upwardlyextending hook ll-comprising a vertical wall I 8 and a relatively short overhanging jaw l9' disposed at-an angle corresponding tothe slope of the upper face 6 of the rail base; H

Thesh'ank is so=constructedthat it engages the lowerface 4 of the'rail base, only at the central portion of the rail and" theremaining portions of the shank are disposed in spaced relation to the lower face of the rail, as shown. As a re-' sult of this construction the shank 16 engages the central portion of the rail base at iii-with a;

fulcrum action that holds the remaining portions of the shank in spaced yielding relation to the rail base, andthis spring action of the shank l6is utilized to hold the jaw) ofthe hook I! in firm gripping engagement "withthe upper face 6 of the rail'base i I The oppo'site end of the shank I6 is provided with a largerhook 2| "adapted to embrace the shoe, and this portion'o-f the shank is bent downengagement of the yoke with the tapered end portion of the shoe as shown in Fig. 11, and it also causes the jaw 23 to grip the upper face 26 of the shoe with a strong spring action, as will be apparent from Fig. 12 wherein the pressure of the. inclined face 24 upon the shoe serves to twist the jaw from the dotted line position of this figure to the full line position and causes the face 24 to lie substantially parallel to the upper face 26 of the shoe.

The embracing engagement between the hook I Zland outer rounded portion -2'l. of the shoe is such that the yoke will be forcedin the direction of its length to hold an edge of the wall l8 of the hook I! against the rail edge 5 andat the same time hold the jaw 23 in firm clamping engagement with the upper face of the shoe.

This is accomplished in the present construction by forming the hook 2| of the yoke so that its inner curved wall that embraces the shoe is disposed eccentrically with respect to the central horizontal axis of the shoe and acts upon only that portionof the curved outer Wall of the shoe which lies below the point X./ This causes the jaw-23 to act upon the upper face 26 ofthe shoe with an increasing downward pressure, as the yoke is driven upon the shoe, as will be apparent I from Fig. 2 in which it will be seen that a clearance space is formed between the upper rounded portion of the shoe and hook from approximately the point indicated by X to the point where the jaw 23 engages. the upper face of the shoe. The

effect of this is to'limit the torsional twist of the jaw 23 to the portion thereof above the point X and to force the yoke transversely of the rail so as to hold the short jaw I9 in firm gripping engagement with the rail base and exert a strong downward pressure upon the jaw 23 when the parts are in the Working position.

hook 11 may .be readily lace over the upper edge of the ran arterrne large hook-21 has been placed over the edge of the raila'nd moved' laterf ally so that the inner curved portion of the hookv l 2 I rests against the rail edge. That is the distance between the curved .Wall X 'of the hook 2'! and in: wardly extending'end of the hook" i9is greater than the width of the rail basej to 'permitnthe ready, application of the yoke to the rail by hand;

while-at the same time k the yoke is suiiicie'ntly short to cause the'des ired clamping action to beexerted uppn the parts as the yoke is driven upon I theshoe I Since the yoke does not at any' time engage the porti'o nfof the shoe lying near the end flange Hi the size of the shoe' maybereduced near this end as indicated at 28. 4 I

It will beiseenvfrom the foregoing that the rail anchor of the present invention may be read-'.

ily appliedto a railas shownin Fig.1 by placing the shoe by handirr the position in which'it is shown in Fig. 4 whereuponthe yoke is engaged withithe" railby hand so that the hook ZI-ein braces the tapered end of the shoe asshownf'in ig. ii. The operation is'then completed by'driv ing the yoke'hook 2'! along theinclined shoe-until the desiredclamping action i'ssecured. I I H The spring actionof the yoke and shoe jaws above "described serves to maintain the parts in the working position and prevents the parts from workingloose under thepressure of the-shoe" against the tie and rail vibration, and the clamp-- v ing action upon the parts may be increased from time to time as desired by driving the yoke further 'upon the shoe. The partsmay be removed from the rail'when desired by driving the yoke in'the reverse direction. 7 I

'What is claimedis: I

1'. In a rail anchor, the combination of an elongated shoe having a slot extending longitudinally thereof to embrace an edge of a rail base and the slot being of less width at one end than the other so that the rail edgewill freely enter the slot'at one end while the other end of the slot as the base is forced into the slot, and a yoke constructed to span the rail base and provided at one end with an upwardly/extending portion 1 adapted to engage one edge of the rail base and provided at its oppositeend with a shoe embracing hook adapted to hold the shoe'in gripping engagement withthe rail base.

2. Ina rail' anchor, "the combinationof an elongated shoe having a' slot extending longitudinally thereof to embrace an edge of a rail grips the rail base with a, strongspring action base and formed with a longitudinally extending upper jaw and non-continuous lower jaws one of which lies closer to the upper jaw than the other so that the railedge will freely enter the. slot at one end while the jaws at the other end of the slot grip the rail base with a strong spring action,

and a yoke constructed to span the rail base and provided at one end with an upwardly extendrail base and provided at its opposite end with i a shoe embracing hook adapted to hold the shoe jaws in firm gripping engagement with the rail.

r r Q 3. In a rail anchor, thecombination of an base.

elongated shoe having a tie abutment flange at one end and a slot extending longitudinally'of the shoe to embrace an edge of a rail base and the slot'being shaped' so that the rail edge will ing portion adapted to engage one-edge o-f'the freely enterbetweenthe slot jaws at the flange .end not the shoe while the .distancebetween the V inner-surfaces! the outer portions of the slot jaws'at the other end oi the shoe is less than the thickness of the railflange tobe introduced therebetween so that these jaws grip the rail flange with strong spring action as the-rail base flange is forced into the'slot, and a yoke constructed to spantherail base, and engage one edge thereof andprovided at its opposite end with a shoe embracing hook adapted to hold the shoe slot in firm gripping engagement with the rail base.

4. In. a rail anchor, the combination of an elongated shoe having a slot extending longitudinally thereof to embrace an edge of a rail base andprovided with two non-continuous lower jaws and an upper jaw that slopes downwardly at its outer edge from one end to the other to wards the plane of the lower jaws to reduce the width of the slot at one end so that the rail edge will freely enter the slot at one end while the :jaws at the other endgrip the rail basewith astrong spring action and cant the shoe sufficiently tohold'the second lower jaw. firmly against the rail base, anda yoke constructed to span the portion of the rail base flange, the jawslbeing so positioned as to provide a free hand fit on the rail in the region of the abutment end and arranged so that they are lheavily'reenforced at this end by the tie abutment and are practically rigid, and disposed closer together at the opposite end of the shoe'where the jaws are more flexibleto provide a driving fit that exerts a strong spring gripping action upon the rail base at this end, and a yoke adapted to span the rail baseand provided with upwardly extending end portions one of which is adapted to engage an edge portion of the rail 'base and the other is adapted to embrace the shoeand hold its jaws in firm gripping engagement with therail base. 7

6. In a rail anchor, the combination of a metal shoe constructed with a longitudinal slot of less width at one end than the other so that the rail edge will freely enter the slot at one end while the other end of the-slot grips the-rail base with a strong spring action as the base is forced into the slot, and a yoke construoted'to span the rail base and provided with a hook to engage one edge of the rail'baseand a relatively larger hook at the other end which is given an initial twist about its longitudinal axis to engage the .metal shoe and impart to the hook a strong spring action against the shoe by slight distortion of the initial twist of the hook as the parts are moved into cooperative relation.

' 7 CHARLES G. ERICSON. 

